A nasal endoscopy is the most important workhorse of my specialty Otolaryngology (Ear Nose Throat). We use it to carefully and thoroughly examine all openings of the ear, nose and throat as many pertinent findings may be missed from a mere glance on the outside.
Most sore throats (pharyngitis) are probably due to viral infections and only need to be further examined with a nasal endoscopy usually if the sore throat doesn’t improve with simple painkillers or antibiotics prescribed by the GP, if the sore throat is getting worse or is affecting the patient’s ability to swallow. Persistent sore throats which tend to be more localised to an area would likely need to be scoped to check for foreign bodies or more sinister conditions like tumours. If the patient has reported swallowing a fishbone which has now led to a sore throat, I would definitely want to check the throat and airway with my nasal endoscope too.
There are many other causes of sore throat that can only be properly evaluated by undergoing a nasal endoscopy such as a constant infected postnasal drip of secretions from your nose due to allergy and sinus problems. Acid reflux causing inflammation of the throat and voicebox is another common cause of a persistent sore throat too and the nasal endoscopy is extremely helpful to help assess this.
In summary, if your sore throat is not getting any better despite simple painkillers and antibiotics, or if it is worsening, or if your sore throat is associated with a hoarse voice, difficulty breathing, noisy breathing, difficulty swallowing, then I would most definitely need to use my trusty nasal endoscope to examine your throat, voicebox and airway. Sometimes, throat infections may progress rapidly to swelling of the airway and difficulty breathing so that a simple sore throat now becomes an emergency life-threatening situation.
If in doubt regarding the cause of your sore throat, consider having a nasal endoscopy, a simple, safe and short procedure easily done in the clinic by an experienced ENT specialist.
